Prime Minister Kevin Rudd addressed the National Press Club in Canberra today.

Rudd’s speech centred on depicting the Australian economy as strong and its difficulties as small by comparison with the rest of the world.

He reiterated his previous statements that the China boom is over and emphasised the economy’s transition to a new investment phase. He argued that ongoing productivity improvement is vital and attacked the negativity of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

Listen to Rudd’s speech (29m)

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Listen to Rudd take questions (33m)

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Watch Rudd’s speech (29m)

Watch Rudd’s graphs:

Official transcript of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Address to the National Press Club.

The Australian Economy in Transition: Building a new National Competitiveness Agenda

I am, without apology, an optimist about our nation’s future.

Our national strengths are formidable.

Our weaknesses, compared with the rest of the world, are few. [Read more…]

This is the full text and audio of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s speech at the National Press Club which included announcement of a federal election on September 14.

Listen to Gillard’s speech (66m)

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Text of Julia Gillard’s speech to the National Press Club.

New years bring new reflections and new work to do.

So it is as we get down to business in 2013.

Today, I intend to do three things:

To take stock of our nation’s position;To outline the action needed to shape our future;To detail a plan for this year.

First, let’s take stock.

Action begins with the evidence. So let’s take a warts-and-all look at who we are today and the opportunities and risks which confront us.

We are a nation of 23 million people, whose median age is 37, an average which continues to rise.

Around four in five men and women will have children, and the average age of a mother when her first child is born is now 29 years.

We share the world’s twelfth-largest economy, up from the fifteenth-largest under this Government, and the median wealth of Australians is among the highest in the world, ahead of nations like Japan, Italy, Belgium and the UK by a considerable margin. [Read more…]

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has addressed the National Press Club in Canberra on his “plan for a stronger economy and a stronger Australia”.

The keynote speech was Abbott’s first major speech for the new year. He maintained his political attack on the Gillard government and made only broad commitments.

Listen to Abbott’s speech (31m)

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Listen to Abbott’s responses to questions (31m)

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Watch Abbott (30m)

MY PLAN FOR A STRONGER ECONOMY AND A STRONGER AUSTRALIA

Four decades after Donald Horne ironically tagged Australia as “the Lucky Country”, the Gillard government is relying on good luck rather than on good management to secure our nation’s future.

The government often cites the fragile international economic situation but fails to propose any new policies to respond to it. It claims ownership of the fundamental strength of the Australian economy even though its own actions have weakened it. And it boasts of a future return to surplus while actually delivering the four biggest budget deficits in Australian history. [Read more…]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard addressed the National Press Club today on the government’s carbon tax policy.

The Prime Minister stressed that the policy was a major and difficult reform. “And in reform, what matters is having the right vision for the country’s future, making the big decisions which get us there, bringing people together to get it done. So now we have had the debate. Now we move from words to deeds. We’re going to get this done.”

Gillard momentarily lost her composure when speaking about her feelings: “It doesn’t come easy to me to expose my feelings as I make these decisions. I was the shy girl who studied and worked hard, and it took time and effort but I got from Unley High to the law and as far as here, where I am today. I’ve brought a sense of personal reserve to this, the most public of professions. And the rigours of politics have reinforced my innate style of holding a fair bit back in order to hang pretty tough.” [Read more…]

The Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey, has delivered the traditional Budget reply speech to the National Press Club, in Canberra.

Listen to Hockey’s speech (31m)

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Listen to Hockey’s responses to questions (29m)

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Listen to Hockey’s response to a question from Fairfax journalist Peter Martin (2m)

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Prepared text of Joe Hockey’s Address to the National Press Club.

THE WRONG BUDGET FOR THE TIMES

The Budget is the most important economic statement of the year. It provides the Government with an opportunity to detail its response to the policy challenges of the day.

It is also a unique opportunity to lay down a policy road map that will contextualise Government statements and give confidence to business and consumers that the nation is navigating a clear and decisive course. [Read more…]